February 4, 2020 - 12:37 AMT
UNWTO: Armenia among world’s 20 fastest growing destinations

Armenia is among the 20 countries that registered the highest jump in visitor numbers in 2019 year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The Armenian tourism grew by 14.4% in the previous year, the survey reveals.

Top of the pack was Myanmar, which saw a 40.2% increase in visitors, followed by Puerto Rico (31.2%) and Iran (27.9%).

Winter sun destinations previously hit by terror attacks also saw a comeback last year, with Egypt seeing a 21.1% increase in visitor numbers, Turkey a 14% rise, and Tunisia up 13.6%.

Also among the top 20 fastest growing destinations are Uzbekistan (27.3%), Montenegro (21.4%), Vietnam (16.2%), Philippines (15.1%), Maldives (14.9%), Bahamas (14.6%), Qatar (14.5%), South Korea (14.4%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (13.7%), Laos (11.5%), Azerbaijan (11.4%), Israel (10.5%), Lithuania (10.1%) and Kazakhstan (10.0%), The Independent reports.

According to the report, overseas trips hit 1.5 billion in 2019, up 4% from 2018. France remained the most-visited country with more than 90 million visitors, followed by Spain’s 83.8 million.